This week marks 30 years since Method Man released his debut solo album, Tical. It was the first solo album by any member of the Wu-Tang Clan following the massive success of their debut album, 1993’s Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). 

For historical accuracy, we’ll note here that GZA released a solo album, Words From the Genius, in 1991, but that was before he joined the Wu-Tang Clan. And RZA released an album with his other project, Gravediggaz (6 Feet Deep), a few months before Tical came out. But Tical was the first solo album in the wake of Wu-Tang’s emergence as a major force on the hip-hop scene. And it was followed by a handful of other classics: Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, GZA’s Liquid Swords, and Ghostface Killah’s Ironman.

Most of these records, including Tical, were produced by the Wu-Tang Clan’s leader, RZA. The album enjoyed both critical respect and commercial appeal. It was a #4 album on Billboard and was quickly certified platinum for sales in excess of a million units. 

The album yielded a bunch of singles: “Bring The Pain,” “Release Yo’ Delf,” and “All I Need.” The latter track received a few remixes which included Mary J Bilge. The new version was called “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By” and was remixed by both Sean “Puffy” Combs (as he was called back then) and the RZA. The song has been cited as an early example of the “thug-love” jam. 
Tical showed that Method Man could stand on his own, outside the group (although he has always remained loyal to the Wu-Tang Clan). He would eventually go on to make lots of records with his Def Jam labelmate Redman and also have an acting career. But here, we’re celebrating some of his greatest moments as an MC: as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, with Redman, as a solo act, and as a guest on other people’s records. Note that some of the songs are NSFW, depending on where you work.

• The Wu-Tang Clan - “Method Man” (1993)

  This is often mistakenly thought of as the only solo song on the Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album, but that’s not true: “Clan In Da Front” is basically a GZA solo showcase. But “Method Man” established Meth as the group’s first breakout star. As we mentioned, he was the first one to release a solo record after the success of Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

  The song showed that Meth had a huge database of pop culture at his disposal: As he told Complex, “I didn’t have an extensive record collection, but I always grew up around music, so I have an extensive memory of records.”

  He borrowed a hook from the song “Set It Off” by Brooklyn electro group Strafe. “Even if I didn’t know the words to the song, I had my own version of the words. I said ‘Move it on your left! Ah!’ I was supposed to say ‘Set it up on your left! Ah!’ But that’s what it sounded like in my memory.”

  The way I got the hook, part was half of it was Michael Jackson’s remake of the Beatles joint [“Come Together”], and the beginning was a mixture of Hall & Oates’ ‘Method of Modern Love,’ and the ‘Man’ part came from ‘Music Man’ by Masta Ace.”

  The lyrics kick off with the line, “Hey, you: get off my cloud!” Meth got that from Bootsy Collins’ “Disciples Of Funk,” but Bootsy was referencing a 1965 Rolling Stones single, “Get Off Of My Cloud.”

• The Wu-Tang Clan - “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” (1993)

  It’s not always about having the most complicated lyrics with the coolest references; songs need hooks, too. And Method Man has a great instinct for unforgettable hooks. He did it on “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’,” and he does it here. His hook – “Cash rules everything around me: C.R.E.A.M. Get the money: dolla, dolla bill, ya’ll!” was instantly memorable and has gone on to be iconic. Meth is a superstar but has always been good with being a team player. The hook made the song a hit but Raekwon and Inspectah Deck’s verses are legendary. By the way, Meth has gone on record noting that Inspecktah Deck is one of the greatest of all time. “To me, Inspectah Deck is one of the most underrated MCs of all time. Interview-wise, he chose to step back and let other brothers do the talking. When you think of Wu-Tang, his name doesn’t come up first. But when you think of iconic verses, his name’s coming up first. When you think of Wu-Tang’s catalog, his name is coming up first, second, or third.” Like we said, despite his stardom, Method Man is still the consumate team player.

• Method Man featuring Mary J Blige - “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By (Razor Sharp Remix)” (1994)

  A remix of “All I Need” from Tical, the new version added Mary J Blige singing an interpolation of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s Motown classic, “You’re All I Need To Get By.” Sean “Puffy” Combs did a remix, but the definitive one is by the RZA. Credited by The New York Times as the song that kicked off “the thug-love duet.” “Back when I was nothing/You made a brother feel like he was something,” Meth raps. “/That’s why I’m with you to this day boo, no fronting/Even when the skies were gray/You would rub me on my back and say, ‘Baby it’ll be okay’/Now that’s real to a brother like me, baby.” There’s a sweetness to the song, but it never feels corny or trite. That’s not easy to do in any genre, especially hip-hop. Lyricists in any genre of music probably burned with jealousy when they heard this song.

• Method Man - “Bring The Pain” (1994)

  Meth’s first single was a banger. Again, he had a great hook: “Is it real, son, is it really real, son?/Let me know it’s real, son, if it’s really real/Something I could feel, son, load it up and kill one/Want it raw deal, son, if it’s really real, yeah, uh!”

  And again, he referenced Strafe’s “Set It Off”: “Movin’ on your left, southpaw, Mr. Meth/Came to represent and carve my name in your chest/You can come test, realize you’re no contest.” The song made a huge impact: Chris Rock named his 1996 tour and television special after the song; Tupac referenced the song on his “No More Pain” from 1996’s classic All Eyez On Me. The respect that Meth got from Tupac – in the midst of clashes between the east and west coast – said a lot. Also, Meth guested on that album. Which leads us to our next track.

• 2Pac featuring Method Man, Redman and Tha Dogg Pound - “Got My Mind Made Up” (1996)

  Meth told Complex that when he recorded the track, it was for Death Row’s Tha Dogg Pound and The Lady Of Rage. He, Redman and Inspectah Deck were all on the track at first. The finished version was much different: it was Tupac featuring Tha Dogg Pound, Method Man and Redman. Regardless, Meth had a great verse: “Now, who wanna test Tical, then tes-ticles/All up in your motherf—in’ mouth/Headbanger boogie, catch me on tour with Al Doogie/Method Man rolled too tight, you can’t pull me/Better take one and pass or that’s that ass/Your vital statistics are low and fallin’ fast/Johnny Blaze out to get loot like Johnny Cash/Play a game of Russian Roulette and have a blast!”

  Meth said that he later met Tupac and they were cool, despite all of the coastal drama going on at the time. And interestingly, Method Man is the only MC to collaborate with both Tupac and the Notorious B.l.G. Which leads us to our next track.

• The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Method Man - “The What” (1994)

  Meth was the only guest MC on Biggie’s Ready To Die; the two co-wrote the song. As he told Complex, “Contrary to what everybody thinks, Big sat there and wrote his verse on paper. I sat down and I wrote my shit on paper.He was like, ‘I’ve got more Glocks and tecs than you / I make it hot, n—-s won’t even stand next to you.’ I was like, ‘I got you.’ After he did that with me, when I wrote my second verse, I was like, ‘Damn, now I gotta put him in my verse and s—.’ So, ‘Stop, look and listen,’ was all I had for him.”

  But he actually had quite a bit more: “M-E-T-H-O-D Man, here I am/I’ll be damned if this ain’t some s—/Come to spread the butter lyrics over hominy grit/It’s the low killer death trap, yes I’m a jet-black ninja/Coming where you rest at, surrender/Step inside the ring, you’s the number one contender/Looking cold-booty like your p—- in December.” And again, this was another song with a great hook: “F— the world, don’t ask me for s—/And everything you get ya gotta work hard fot it!”

• DMX featuring Ja Rule, Method Man and Nas - “The Grand Finale” (1998)

  Meth — who is a co-star in the film Belly, that the song is from –leads off with a classic verse about what it’s like to outlive your friends and family. “’Cause we family, for better or worse/You and I from the dirt/Used to snatch purses/So hard, it hurt to be hereAnd each year, I’m pouring out more beer/For deceased peers, holding fort.” He sets the scene without saying much: “Police line, do not cross/They found his corpse in the loft/With the head cut off and butt naked/Homicide the crime method/Add another killer verse to the murder record/The grand finale.” It’s a devastating scene that Method Man sets with precision and expertise.

• Method Man and Redman - “Mi Casa” (1999)

  We had to include a few tracks from Meth and Red. After all, they’re one of the best duos in hip-hop history. Meth comes in hot on his verse: “Every time I turn around, somebody in my business!” He gets more threatening from there: “Welcome to the game of death, polly wanna biscuit?/First prize a one way ticket to my s— list/And I spread it like a rumor or a sickness/Stand-by let a chicken head lay a chicklet!” And the kicker: “Playboy, you ain’t got no balls plus your dickless/And I’m like a plumber laying pipes in your misses.” Ouch! By the way, we’ll mention here that Meth and Red’s first album together, Blackout!, is a classic start to finish. We’d also recommend the title track, “Y.O.U.,” “Cereal Killer,” “Tear It Off” and “1,2,1,2.”

• Method Man and Redman - “Da Rockwilder” (1999)

  You know we had to include this one! Clocking in at just 2:16, it wastes no time, but we kind of wish it was longer. Meth and Red each get a verse, then they’re out. In very little time, Meth references two songs from his discography – the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Protect Ya Neck” (“supreme neck protector”) and his collaboration with Limp Bizkit, “N 2 Gether Now” (“It’s all N’together, going all out together”). He also references the Rolling Stones’ classic “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (“I’m never satisfied, like the Stones”). Meth has told the story that Redman didn’t like the song at first. Thankfully they gave it a shot and it became the duo’s biggest hit.

• Pete Rock featuring Method Man - “Half Man Half Amazin’” (1998)

  This is a fun jam that pairs Meth with one of hip-hop’s great producer/MCs. Meth’s comic book references pop out here. First, he mentions one of his many aliases: “Here we come, straight from the slums, dynamic duo, son/Ghost Rider Jonathan and Brother #1.” One of Meth’s many nicknames is Johnny Blaze, the secret identity of Marvel’s Ghost Rider. Later on, he namedrops Marvel’s favorite mutant superhero team: “Those evil-doers days is numbered/We flexin’ like the X-Men.” Method Man is a big comic book fan and even used to host a podcast called Marvel/Method.

  And by the way, we’ll take a moment to suggest to Marvel: if you’re about to cast a new Johnny Blaze, may we suggest Method Man? We know he’s got acting chops and he would understand the assignment.

  But, as of now, the closest he’s gotten to being in a Marvel film is doing a voice in the Marvel children’s cartoon Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, which was executive-produced by Laurence Fishburne. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the Netflix series Luke Cage. And that leads us to our next track.

• Method Man - “Bulletproof Love” (2016)

  Produced by A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad along with Arian Younge (who provided all the music for Luke Cage), this track take place within the world of Luke Cage, as Method Man goes to a radio studio and tells the hosts about what went down when he saw Luke bust a stickup at a bodega. Meth covers a lot in a little over two minutes: the song is about the real world as well, outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Lord, who to call when no one obeys the law/And there ain’t no Iron Man that/Can come and save us all?/Power to the people and Luke Cage the cause/And the cops got it wrong…Now we got a hero for hire and he a Black one/And bullet-hole hoodies is the fashion/We in Harlem’s Paradise, tell the Captain/That I’m about to trade the mic for a Magnum/Give up my life for Trayvon to have one.”

  There are rumors that Marvel is bringing back Mike Colter as Luke Cage in the second season of Daredevil; that’s a while away, as the first season debuts next year. But if they bring him back, maybe Meth can return as well.

• Method Man - “Judgement Day” (1998)

  The highlight of Meth’s second solo album, Tical 2000: Judgement Day, released in 1998. The song captured the weird unease we had with the coming of the new millennium. If you were feeling uneasy about the threat of Y2K (and the future in general), this song would not have helped: “Ten: let the countdown begin/Nine: I was born in the mind/Eight: take the head of the snake/Seven: behold Armageddon/Six: ain’t no love for the rich/Five: only strong will survive/Four: ‘cause we live by the sword/Three: plus sixty degrees/Two: for the black and the blue/One for the sun/Step into millennium.” The video, with elaborate sets, costumes and special effects, was mindblowing at the time.

• HONORABLE MENTION: Stephen Colbert and Jon Batiste featuring Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Method Man, Killer Mike, and Anna Kendrick - “#1 Trilly” (2021)

  But let’s end on a lighter note. In this 2021 skit, Stephen Colbert and Jon Batiste paid tribute to the Lord Of the Rings film trilogy with a rap tune, featuring many of the cast members, and two actual MCs: Method Man and Killer Mike. Meth noted all the trilogy’s accolades: “Lordy lordy, we won some awards, B/Cutting down pretenders, like Aragorn’s sword, G/Seventeen Oscars, that’s king s— forever/That’s more than these three mother——s put together” – referring to the James Bond, Mad Max and Toy Story franchises. “Effects? Impeccable! Costumes? Unassailable! I’m only on this song ’cause Ian McKellen’s unavailable!” Meth showed his starpower and his sense of humor on this geektastic jam.

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